I. Background Material
1. China's Environmental Protection
(1) Introduction
发展经济同时,中国正越来越重视环境保护。In the early 1970s, the Chinese government put forward the policy and relevant measures on treating the "three wastes" (waste gas, wastewater, residues), and started to clean up polluted rivers, lakes, and offshore sea areas. 20世纪70年代初。。。Since the initiation of the policies of reform and opening to the outside world, the Chinese government has taken environmental protection as a basic state policy, formulated a series of laws, policies, and measures on environmental protection, and put forward the guiding principle of " making plans for economic development, urban and rural construction and environmental protection simultaneously, while implementing the plans for development so as to bring about economic, social and environmental results in an integrated way." “经济发展、城乡建设和环境保护同步规划,实施发展规划,实现经济、社会和环境综合效益” It has also implemented the three policies of " putting prevention first, and combining prevention with control," "whoever causes pollution must remedy it" and "intensifying environmental administration." The central government requires governments at all levels to work out environmental protection measures while formulating a plan for national economic and social development to make the economy and the environment develop in a coordinated way. In 1994, the Chinese government also promulgated Agenda 21 - White Paper on China's Population, Environment, and Development in the 21st Century, which for the first time put forward China's general strategy for sustainable development, countermeasures, and action programs. 1994年,中国政府还颁布了《21世纪议程——中国21世纪人口、环境与发展白皮书》,首次提出了中国可持续发展的总体战略、对策和行动纲领。While developing its economy, China will handle properly the relations among the population, natural resources, and the environment. In March 1996, the Fourth Session of the Eighth NPC approved the Outline of the Ninth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-term Objectives for the Year 2010, which put forward the cross-century environmental objectives as follows: By 2000, China will basically control environmental pollution and curb the worsening of the ecological environment, and the environmental quality of some cities and regions will be improved. By 2010, the worsening of the ecological environment will be basically checked, the urban environmental quality will be remarkably improved, and a number of cities and regions will enjoy rapid economic development, a beautiful environment, and a benign ecological circle. In January 1999, the Chinese government worked out and approved the National Ecological Environmental Program, which proposed a 50-year deadline for checking the worsening of the ecological environment in the short, medium, and long terms.